shopping pictures for Mariposa

Bug and I went grocery shopping tonight. Mariposa asked for some pictures on the blog- so I took the camera. i felt really weird taking photos as we walked around the store- so there are only these few.

The checkout line- Bug is about worn out from the day and wandering around the store. it was supposed to be a small shopping trip- HAHAHA- it was a normal shopping.

Before we started shopping. Bug is happy- we got the red car- not the blue car- so he was happy get got to drive the "firetruck".

Our store. We shop here, we are indoctrinated. I have tried other stores, but this is our favorite.

tomorrow is library day and if the weather is nice, we will run around and take some pictures for Mariposa to show her the places we go.

She arrives in the US on Friday and we pick her up on Saturday. Bug's birthday is Saturday- a 4 year old and a teenager- all in one day. I think I am a little scared.

Love to you,

Deb

Electrical Workers union picnic- lots of pictures

We headed over to the electrical workers union picnic- Pap retired from the union a few years back, but we still get to go. We have not gone since I was in high school. It was a blast with Bug. He was so excited and into doing all the rides.


His favorite ride- the motorcycles. This is the last ride before we left and he was at his limit with people and the heat/humidity. But he had been going strong for 3 hours.

Once we got home, I harvest some potatoes to see what we might have this is the haul from one plant!!!! Tomorrow is potato harvesting day at our house.

Back to the picnic- pap watched us on the rides all day. But even though he did not do the rides, he loved watching Bug. he would wave at us as we rode each ride. The great thing about this picnic is that all the rides, drinks, ice cream, etc was free. The hamburgers and hot dogs were very cheap- but we did not have those since we went right after lunch and left at 3.

Here we are- riding the "teddy bear" roller coaster. Bug loved it!!!! I am so excited, because I love roller coasters too.

The Blue track is ours.

The first ride- Bug is a little anxious- but he was soon having a great time.

We flew the sailing planes.

We flew helicopters

Bug drove cars- looking cool- of course

he rode the motos 6 times

We rode the Ferris wheel

he drove the boats 3 times

Have I said how much he loves riding motos?????

we flew elephants

mam on the carousel

First ride of the day- see Pap in the back.

This was great and afterward, we found a great farmers market. They have some great stuff planned in the fall- we will be going and taking Mariposa too.

This was a great day. just a wonderful time.

Love and hugs,

Deb

More randomness- 2 posts tonight

My firned P sent Bug a birthday package- first he got magnetic Bug letters. he likes them lots.

She sent "M" pasta for momma- YUMMMMMMMMM

And a card- P rocks in Bug's book.

Thanks Bugling- you are so kind and considerate.

Love and hugs,

.

randomness from the last few days

First- I ran out of photo storage space- who knew I could fill 1 GB of space with photos. So it will be later today before I can load more as I had to buy more space. YIKES!!!!




Bug took this photo of me this morning- this is his unfinished momma in the morning (after cleaning the kitchen). We harvested 10 zucchinis yesterday- 5 HUGE ones and 5 little ones. I have given you some examples.

And this is Momma's arm as a comparison

See. I think the big ones will be bread and muffins in a few weeks or so. I will be sending those off to my work colleagues. The little ones are going straight to our bellies- YUMMMMMM

We are off to the Union Picnic today. Pap retired from the electrical workers union years ago, but he is still allowed to bring his family to the picnic- they have carnival rides and other things, so we are taking Bug as a treat. I have not been to this since I was in high school.

7 more days and it is Bug's birthday and Mariposa arrives. We have a busy week to prepare for her arrival and get everything ready for the birthday party weekend.

Love and hugs,

Deb

School choices

I guess with Mairposa arriving in 8 more days, I am thinking more and more about schooling choices for Bug. He will not start until next fall (2010) but I have to start the process to get him enrolled in February and there are choices to be made.

So I am going to throw them out here with some pros and cons and ask for feedback- but I know in the end, I will make the decision - I just want to see what everyone thinks.

Choice 1: Kindergarten in our school district
Pros:
1. I can walk him to school- we are a block from the school
2. I could walk him home
3. no extra fees/tuition/etc
Cons:
1. he would be in the building with the district office. I think they don't like me there (and yes, they know me on sight and yes, they target the kids of parents they don't like)
2. There is no all day kindergarten
3. there is no Spanish language classes in the elementary schools in my district.

Choice 2: local catholic school
Pros:
1. It is close, I would have to drive Bug to and from school
2. They have all day kindergarten
3. I know teachers there and they have a good reputation as a school
Cons:
1. I would have to pay tuition- out of parish, non catholic- but it is less then daycare
2. Bug would be getting catholic religion classes. I grew up catholic- I disagree with some things on a very fundamental level.
3. there is no Spanish language class for the elementary students

Choice 3: Big city magnet school
Pros:
1. he would be in Spanish immersion - total Spanish, all day
2. he would be in Spanish immersion all day
3. he would be in Spanish immersion all day
Cons:
1. I would have to drive him to and from school since we are out of the district
2. I would have to try and get him into the school- there is no guarantee there would be any openings once the in district kids apply to the school.
3. I would have to pay tuition
4. I have no idea if they have all day kindergarten
5. I need to find out more on the rest of the academic standing for the school- the Spanish language program is one of the best in the country though.

Choice 4: home schooling
reality check: not really an option given that I work form home at least 8 hours a day. That means Bug and I would do school in the evenings and that is just not happening at this point in my opinion. Although, I do think it would be cool to do this when Bug is older and can be given topics/tasks to work on during my work hours- maybe it could be more of summer camp idea for me to consider.

So those are my options. I really like option 3- Spanish Immersion is something I want for Bug. I can give him the language background in Spanish that he will need in the future and since my degree is in linguistics, I know that the US system of starting a second language in middle school/high school is actually the worst option. So I am not willing to let him go years before he starts formal language classes.
I also don't like the idea of weekend Spanish classes- I think it is not enough time - but maybe I am wrong there.

The only thing I worry with in option 3 is that I will not be able to apply until February for an open spot and there might not be an open spot for him at that time. In district families can apply in November of this year- so I am thinking that there is little to no chance that there will be openings as parents camp out the night before the applications can be turned in- just to get the applications in first.

This is one of the times I really am praying that God smacks me upside the head and points out the choice I am suppose to make for Bug.


that's it for tonight. Love and hugs,
Deb

Flying Bug

After months of correcting Bug when he jumped up and down on my bed, he finally figured out that "diving" on the bed was not quite as problematic for momma.

He thought it was awesome that my jammie shirt bounced up when he hit the pillow.

In full flight.

As much as he is cautious, at home, caution is thrown to the wind.

Love to you,

Deb

Roller Skating and Motos

Motos first- mariposa sent us some photos today of a her moto ride with her father. I love the scenery in Germany. Bug was quite excited to see that Mariposa rides motos. he just can not understand why she can't bring her father's moto here so he can ride it too.

We attended a birthday party today- Bug got to roller skate for the first time. It has been almost 25 years since I roller skated. We both loved it. I got the fee schedule and I think we will be doing this activity more frequently. Mariposa- we hope you like roller skating.

Of course the Skating rink had video games where kids can win tickets- Bug earned himself a toy cell phone. yes, I let him pick and yes I had to kick in some money- but he loves it.

This is Bug showing you his glow rings around his ankles. he thought these were pretty cool.

eating Ice cream at the birthday party- he ignored the cake (which was yummy)

Bug skating!!!! I skated ahead of him to get the picture- no way he was going out there alone. This is the third time we went out on the skating floor.

Momma and Bug. I hate this picture- shorts are too bug so it makes me look bigger. I knew I should have worn a belt. And it is time to really work on losing weight. Hopefully skating regularly will help with that.

This is the first time out- I made Bug wear a helmet because I was afraid if he fell and hit his head. he was fine and actually too hot, so we ditched the helmet after our first trip out.

The birthday girl, M.

Still the first time out- hanging on and making his way cautiously around the rink.

It was a good day. We ended the day with Mam and Pap coming over and I grilled hamburgers on the grill, we had corn on the cob and just had a good time.

Our evening was tinged with the information that my BF (best friend) mother in law has been diagnosed with liver cancer, my uncle was diagnosed with colon cancer and my step brother's mother died unexpectedly today. We are praying for healing for R and Uncle H and praying for God's grace and mercy on for T's family. If you would pray for them too- it would mean so much to us.

Love and hugs.

Deb